Railway-rail stay.



No. 783,149. PATENTED FEB. 21,1905.

H. H. SPONENBURG.

RAILWAY RAIL STAY.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 783.149. PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

H. H. SPONENBURG.

RAILWAY RAIL ST APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12, 0

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES Patented February 21, 1905.

PATENT Trice.

HIRAM H. SPONENBURG, OF VVADSVVORTH, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOEDWARD LAAS, OF OTTUMWA, IOWA.

RAILWAY-RAIL STAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,149, dated February21, 1905.

Application filed November 12, 1904. Serial No. 232,396.

To (all whom, it nuty concern-.-

Be it known that I, HIRAM H. SPONENBURG, of Wadsworth, in the county ofLalge, in the State of Illinois, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Railway-Rail Stays, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to devices designed to prevent longitudinalcreeping of the rails of railway-tracks; and it consists in novelfeatures of the construction of the rail-stay, which is strong, durable,and efiicient in its operation and is reversible endwise, and thusadapted to be applied to either side of the track and always present itstightening devices at the outside of the track, if so desired, and atthe same time abut the proper side of the cross-tie to resist thelongitudinal creeping of the rail, all as hereinafter described, and setforth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are transverse sections ofthe two rails at opposite sides of the track with my improved rail-stayapplied to said rails. Fig. 3 is a side view of the same. Fig. 4 is anisometric top view of the bar which carries the rail-grippingjaws. Fig.5 is an isometricinverted view of the adjustable jaw. Figs. 6 and 7illustrate modifications of myinvention, and Fig. 8 is an inverted planView of the railstay.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. i

R denotes the track-rail, and A the crosstie supporting said rail.

My improved rail-stay consists of the bar a, which extends across theunder side of the rail R, adjacent to the side of the cross-tie, and isprovided on one end with a jaw b, which is preferably formed integralwith the bar a and grips the flange C of the rail. The 0pposite end ofthe bar a is formed with an elongated horizontal seat 2?, upon which isadjustably mounted the jaw e, which grips the adjacent flange of therail. To allow the said jaw to be adjusted to varying widths of the baseof the rail, I provide the seat 6 with a longitudinal slot f forreceiving through it the bolt g, which passes through an aperture 72, inthe heel of the jaw e, as indicated by dotted lines, and is provided onits lower end with a head 2', which engages the under side of the seatt, while a nut 1', applied to the upper protruding end of the bolt,bears on the top of the heel of the jaw and clamps the jaw in itsadjusted position.

The slot f allows the jaw to be shifted lengthwise of the bar a, so asto accommodate said jaw to the width of the base of the rail whileengaged by the jaw b. The railstay is thus adjustable to varying widthsof rail-bases.

To securely retain the jaw c in its adjusted position, I provide theseat 6 and bottom of the jaw c with corresponding serrations of suitableform, preferably of the form of transverse ribs on one of said partsengaging coinciding transverse grooves in the other of said parts.

To relieve the bolt g from shearing strain incident to the strainexerted on the jaw e by the tendency of the longitudinal creeping of therail, I form the seatt with a longitudinal groove cl and form the underside of the heel of the jaw c with a tongue Z, which engages the groove03. It is obvious that the said tongueand-groove joint may be reversedwithout changing the effect thereof, and I therefore do not limit myselfin that respect.

a n represent vertical flanges depending from the bar a and formedintegral therewith. Said flanges abut against the side of the crosstiein opposition to the longitudinal creeping tendency of the rail R.

In order to allow the rail-stay to be applied to either rail of a trackand at the same time present the clamping-bolt g and itsnut ,y' at theoutside of the track, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, Iprovide the bar a with flanges n n on opposite sides of the bar andpreferably two of such flanges on each end of the bar, as illustrated inFigs. 6,7, and 8 of the drawings. This last-described constructionaflords more extensive bearings on the side of the cross-tie andequalizes the strain from end to end of the bar a.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a railway-rail stay, thecombination of a bar extending across the under side of the rail andabutting against the side of the crosstie and provided on one end with aserrated face and on the opposite end with means for gripping the baseof the rail, a rail-gripping jaw mounted adjustably on the serrated faceand serrated correspondingly, and means for clamping the adjustable jawon the bar.

- 2. In a railway-rail stay the combination of I a bar extending acrossthe under side of the said bar, a longitudinal slot in the opposite endof said bar, a rail-gripping jaw mounted adjustably on the slotted endof the bar and provided with an aperture, and a bolt passing throughsaid aperture and slot and provided with a nut for clamping theadjustable jaw o the bar.

4:. A reversible rail-stay consisting of a bar extending across theunder side of the rail and provided on opposite sides with bearings forengaging the side of the cross-tie in the reversed positions of the bar,and jaws on said bar disposed to grip the rail.

5. A railway-rail stay consisting of a bar extending across the underside of the rail and formed on one end with arail-gripping jaw, a jawmounted on the opposite end of said bar adjustable toward the rail,means for clamping the adjustable jaw on the bar, and abutments onopposite sidesof thebar engaging the side of the cross-tie in thereversed positions ofthe bar as set forth.

6. A railway-rail stay consisting of a bar extending across the underside of the rail and abutting against the side of the cross-tie andprovided on one end with a rail-gripping jaw, a jaw mounted on theopposite end of the bar, adjustable in its position for gripping therail, means for clamping said adjustable jaw on the bar, and atongue-and-groove joint between the adjustable jaw and bar disposedlengthwise of the bar to sustain said jaw in opposition to thelongitudinal strain of the rail.

' 7. In a railway-rail stay the combination of a bar extending acrossthe under side of the rail and formed on one end with a rail-grippingjaw and on the top of the opposite end with a transversely ribbed face,a longitudinal groove in said face and a vertical slot through said endportion of thebar, a jaw mounted adjustably on said ribbed face andprovided with grooves coinciding with the ribs, an aperture extendingvertically through the said jaw, and a tongue engaging the longitudinalgroove, a bolt passing through said aperture and slot and provided witha clamp-nut and flanges on the bar abutting the side of the cross-tie asset forth and shown.

HIRAM H. SPONENBURG.

Witnesses:

H. K. KIMPTON, J. GARRUTHERS.

